


hundreds of flowers have widely bloomed in my heart

by bloomings



Category: MAS (Korea Band), Produce 101 (TV), RBW Boyz (Band), The Unit: Idol Rebooting Project (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 13:09:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13388490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloomings/pseuds/bloomings
Summary: He's home when he finally opens his drink.  His name is written neatly on the side,Dongmyeong - hot chocolate, extra whip :)When he opens the lid the whipped cream has melted into the hot chocolate but Dongmyeong still thinks it's delicious





	hundreds of flowers have widely bloomed in my heart

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be for dongmyeong's birthday but i got side tracked, so here you go
> 
> title from berry good's [because of you](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ITfI3XC-3Q)

It’s snowing when he gets out.  The crowd of students should be annoying but Dongmyeong finds himself caught up in the moments of the first snow.

He honestly cannot help but look up at the falling snow, opening his mouth.  He blinks when snow falls into his eyes instead, quickly dropping his head, laughing at himself.

He starts walking, the crowd of people begins to thin out as he walks farther and farther away from school.  

The snow begins to fall heavily, giant flakes that melt away as soon as they land on Dongmyeong’s coat.  The streets are not as crowded as usual, dulled down into white and grays as the winter weather reigns quietly.

Dongmyeong sees the balloons first.  Red, yellow, green, orange, blue balloons sway with the cold wind, catching his attention as he gets closer and closer.  The sign overhead reads  _Happy Cafe_.

 _Grand Opening!_ Dongmyeong reads to himself, vaguely remembering the empty storefront that used to be where a bakery now stands.

There’s a couple of people sitting on the few tables gathered to the side, eating slices of cakes, drinking steaming cups of what Dongmyeong can only assume is tea, coffee, hot chocolate for those on the sweet side.

He stands for a second, watching as people talk before deciding to go in.  He pushes the door carefully, stepping on carpet laid out to catch melting snow.

There’s a sign next to the entrance, one that Dongmyeong knows would be outside if there wasn’t a snow falling quietly.  

Dongmyeong scans over it quickly, smiling at the cute drawing, eyes catching on the student special.

“A small hot drink and a slice of cake,” he reads to himself, “with student id.”

He pulls his backpack away from his shoulders, swinging it forward and unzipping the first pocket he sees.

There’s no one at the counter when he makes his way to it.  Dongmyeong waits, unsure, before the cake display catches his eyes.  He can feel his mouth water at all the delicious toppings, breads, fillings, eyes settling on the white fluffiness of a melon cake.  Frosting as delicate as clouds, slices of honeydew melon, cantaloupe and cherries glinting with glaze.  

“Can I help you” someone asks.

Dongmyeong turns around, moving away from the display.

The boy at the register is _tall_ , Dongmyeong stares at him for probably longer than he should.  But it’s hard not to notice _how_ attractive the boy is.  His mouth a shade of pink Dongmyeong swears _has_ to be tint, lips plump and soft looking, corners curving so cutely, so prettily Dongmyeong blinks to make sure the boy is real.

“Are you ready to order?” the boy asks, wide eyes curving with his smile, the puffiness under his eyes more noticeable.

_Cute._

“Uh, yes!” he exclaims, taking his student id and sliding it across, “can I order the student special?”

“Sure,” the boy looks at his id carefully, returning it seconds later, “what will you like for your drink, Dongmyeong-ssi?”

He can’t help it when his eyes widen at his name.  The other boy is looking at him, smiling kindly.  Dongmyeong pretends to think about it, eyes flickering to the menu, “A hot chocolate, extra whipped cream?”

“And for your cake?”

“Can I have a slice of the melon cake?” he asks, voice almost a whisper in his anticipation.

He blinks confusedly when the cashier awkwardly hovers his hands over the register, face pulling into an unsure look.

“Sure,” he finally says, voice raising a little, “let me just find a knife to cut it with.”

His smile turns wide, into a grin that Dongmyeong returns with a shy smile.

He slides a crumpled bill across the counter, reaching for the change and stuffing it into his pocket quickly.  There’s no one behind him, he stalls momentarily in front, watching as the other boy goes back into the kitchen.

Eventually he decides he feels silly standing with no one around.  He looks around, notices that the small bakery is emptier than when he came in, people have gone and the table at the end of the room is now empty.

He sits down when the cashier returns, knife and plate in hand.  

Dongmyeong knows he shouldn’t stare, so he grabs his bag, pretends to look through it, taking out a notebook.  

He’s stuck on drawing random little pictures, unidentified shapes and lines.  He’s so focused on not staring that he doesn’t notice the boy walking to his table, carefully balancing his drink and cake in each hand.

“Here, you go,” he says, voice bright.

Dongmyeong startles with it, covering his notebook with his hands as the other boy places his order on the table.

“Thank you,” Dongmyeong closes his book, “you didn’t have to bring it over.”

“It’s alright,” he assures Dongmyeong, making a sweeping motion with his hand, “the snow has this place pretty empty so it’s not much of a hassle.”

Dongmyeong nods along to his answer, swallowing nervously when he realizes no one is talking and it’s gone too quiet.  He looks at his slice of cake, sitting just as pretty as in the display case, wishes he could think of something to say.

“Gunhee!” a voice calls from the back, the door to the kitchen swinging open, “help me get this bag of sugar off the shelf!”

“That’s me,” _Gunhee_ points at himself, “in charge of getting things off the top shelf!” he bows quickly, before turning away, “enjoy!”

-

Dongmyeong blinks when he feels the sharp sting against his forhead.

“ _Ow_ ,” he hisses, hand going to soothe at the pain.

Kiwook looks at him, unimpressed and not looking sorry at all.

“I’ve been talking for the past five minutes and you’ve been staring at that rock, totally spaced out,” he doesn’t sound annoyed, so Dongmyeong offers a smile.

“Sorry,” he rubs where Kiwook has hit him, “distracted with school stuff.”

“Right, ‘school stuff,” he raises his hand in air quotes, “it’s only Tuesday _how_ are you already swapped in school work?”

“Uh,” Dongmyeong raises his hand to his chin in pretend thought, “maybe because I _actually_ do my homework?”

Kiwook pushes him away, laughing when Dongmyeong topples over.

“You’re so mean,” Dongmyeong sniffles, grabbing his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder, “I’m leaving.”

Kiwook stands up as well, frowning, “I wish I didn’t have to go to tutoring,” he whines.

“Harin hyung is ok though,” Dongmyeong grins, “doesn’t he buy you delicious food?”

“Yeah, so?” Kiwook huffs.

Dongmyeong wiggles his eyebrows, Kiwook shoves his shoulder against his.  Dongmyeong stumbles forward, uses the force to keep walking, hand raising in a wave.

“Have fun Kiwook-ah,” he calls back, turning around and starting his walk out of school.

The streets are more packed with students this time around, walking in small groups, walking into convenience stores and small restaurants for snacks.

Dongmyeong forgoes his usual snack stop and keeps walking until he spots the same balloons from the day before, drooping slightly with the cold, tied to the menu board.

He slows his steps, reads the colorful marker advertising the student special.

Through the windows and glass door he can see it’s busy, the line is long this time, the small tables all taken.

He thinks about it for a second, but feels silly waiting outside, people moving around him.  He pushes the door carefully, pats his pants’ pocket to make sure his student id is there, getting in line.

He can’t really see who’s in front, but he is able to see the kitchen door swing open, someone taking up space near the drink machines.  

The line moves slowly but Dongmyeong feels entirely too committed to leave now, taking half steps as the line keeps on moving.

He gets close enough to see the cake displays, eyes searching for the melon cake.  Dongmyeong had liked it a lot, had been as sweet and fluffy as it had looked.

“Next,” the cashier calls out, Gunhee looks at him, smile big.

“Oh,” Dongmyeong shuffles forward, biting his tongue to keep himself from saying something stupid.

“What will you like today?” Gunhee asks.

“Can I get the student special?” Dongmyeong answers quickly, hand reaching for his id.

Gunhee raises his hands, shaking his head slightly, “no need Dongmyeong-ssi,” he says, softly, “What will you like for your drink?”

He blinks when Gunhee says his name, stammering out his order of a hot chocolate.

“And a slice of the melon cake?” Dongmyeong mumbles, looking around quickly at the still packed place, “to go.”

Gunhee stills again at his order, Dongmyeong notices, but it’s only a fraction of second before he nods, smiling a he plugs in his order.

Gunhee grabs a small cup from beside him, marks it up and gives it to the boy in the drink station, working on other drinks.  He reaches for the melon cake on display, turning into the kitchen.  Dongmyeong turns to look behind him, realizes he’s the last in line.  

He hovers awkwardly in front of the register, not too keen to stand with the others waiting for their drinks.

It’s a minute or two before Gunhee comes back, slice of cake boxed up in a white cardboard box.

“Here you go,” Gunhee slides it towards him, Dongmyeong remembers to pay, gets his change a few seconds later.

“Hey, Gunhee,” the boy at the counter says as he hands out another drink, “there’s like only two drinks left, I’m going back.”

“Ok,” he nods, moving to the side as the boy passes him, “also don’t get mad when you get back there.”

The shorter boy squints at him, sighing, “no promises.”

Dongmyeong shuffles to the drink counter, smiling at the other customer waiting, a girl in a school uniform Dongmyeong vaguely remembers.

Gunhee places her drink on the counter, picking up the cup he had marked up for Dongmyeong.  The girl reaches for it, ducks quickly out of the bakery, cheeks pinking up when Gunhee smiles at her.

Dongmyeong walks closer to the counter now that he’s alone.  He listens to the whizzing and whirring noises of the machines.

“Dongmyeong-ssi?” Gunhee calls out, small cup sliding on the counter, “your drink is ready.”

“Thanks,” Dongmyeong reaches for it, throat closing up again.

“Come again,” Gunhee smiles, leaning on the counter, “maybe it won’t be as busy.”

Dongmyeong feels the way a blush rises up his neck, cheeks hot with it.

He can’t really say anything to that, he holds on tighter to his drink and cake and walks out.

-

He's home when he finally opens his drink.  His name is written neatly on the side, _Dongmyeong - hot chocolate, extra whip :)_

When he opens the lid the whipped cream has melted into the hot chocolate but Dongmyeong still thinks it's delicious

-

When he finally steps out of the library the day has gotten darker, the winter air biting.  He zips his jacket all the way to his chin, walking slowly as if not to slip on the random icy spots on the streets.

Today hasn’t been a bad day.  Dongmyeong’s backpack is heavier than usual, stuffed with birthday presents his classmates had given him.  It’s mostly sweets and a couple of stationery items, pencils, notepads.

He had stuffed Kiwook’s gift alongside the others, a hamster plushie that he swears looks just like Dongmyeong.  It makes it hard to zip his bag up again and it gets in the way, bumping into people and other objects.

The balloons are all limp now, still tied to the menu board, swaying sadly with the cold air.  Dongmyeong looks into the shop, notices there’s only two people sitting on one table.

Gunhee looks up when he pushes the door open, lips spreading into his easy smile.

“Dongmyeong-ssi,” his hands are already taping on the register, “same as always right?” he asks.

Dongmyeong nods, reaching into his pocket for his money.

He sits this time, in the same corner table he had the first day.  He doesn’t want to bother fighting with the zipper on his bag so he stares emptily out the window, spacing out.

“Here you go,” a plate and cup appears in front him, snapping him out his daze when the other boy sits across from him.

“Um,” Dongmyeong says, dumbly, trails off into nothing.

“Oh,” the other boy sits up straighter, pushing the cup and plate closer to Dongmyeong, “I’m Gunhee,” he says, “my shift is over.”

Dongmyeong looks over at the counter, notices a new boy on the counter, one that definitely looks more hamster like than himself.

“Um,” Dongmyeong repeats, still unsure.  He’s embarrassing himself with how tripped up he is, blushing against his will.

“You’re actually like our first ever regular,” Gunhee says in some form of explanation, “I know it’s only been like three days but still, you’ve been here all three days!” he folds an arm over the table, “you must really like the cake.”

Dongmyeong nods, clearing his throat, “yeah something like that,” he mumbles, reaching for the fork next to the plate, wrapped in paper napkins.

“You go to school nearby, right?” Gunhee asks, single handedly carrying the conversation.

Dongmyeong nods, mentally scolding himself, to say something, _anything_.

“I used to go to school around here too,” Gunhee pushes through, completely unfazed by the quiet Dongmyeong is clinging to.

“You’re in university?”Dongmyeong manages to finally say something, relieved that it’s something normal, polite.

“Yeah,” Gunhee nods, “it’s my first year,” his smile is really too bright, Dongmyeong thinks.

“I like it so far,” Gunhee adds on when it goes quiet again, “did you apply already?”

Dongmyeong cuts a piece of the melon cake, “yeah,” he says quietly.

He takes a bite to avoid answering.  His palms are sweaty but he can’t help it, Gunhee really is too attractive, he’s never felt this way, the way butterflies explode in his stomach, for _anyone_ , for a _boy_.

At first he had thought it had been some kind of admiration, a desire to be as handsome as the other boy.  But he finds he thinks about the other boy too much, cheeks tinting with soft pink, heart beating rapidly.

“You’re really cute,” Gunhee says, Dongmyeong blinks, the hotness rising to his cheeks feels like it’s burning him alive, rushing rapidly as Gunhee leans forward.

His thumb goes to the corner of his mouth, wiping carefully before leaning over the table, placing the soft press of his plump lips to the blush gathering on his cheeks.

“Get home safely,” Gunhee says when he pulls back, standing up, “come back again.”

Gunhee walks away, waving at the boy at the counter and ducking quickly out of the door.  Dongmyeong watches, dazed, frozen in place as Gunhee passes by the windows licking  the frosting off his thumb without much thought, passing by and disappearing.

He feels silly when he raises his hand to his cheek, swears he can still feel the softness, warmness of Gunhee’s lips.

He’s alone now, with a backpack full of birthday presents, quickly cooling hot chocolate, and a heart trying desperately to calm down.

He takes another careful bite of his melon cake, careful not to get any on his face.

**Author's Note:**

> please support my [son](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btMEbMtXrY4)
> 
> find me/talk to me about this fic or other fics or other ideas on my [twitter](https://twitter.com/weusfics) / [cc](https://curiouscat.me/bloomings)


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